Common Questions

Q. Why should I consider
funeral pre-arrangement?

A. Pre-arrangement
allows you to select the type of service you prefer. This may include the
recording of biographical information and or selecting merchandise such as a
service folder, casket, vault or urn. You may wish to prepay for your
service in advance but you are not obligated to do so.

Q. Are there any
benefits to preplanning one's funeral service?

A. There are three main
reasons why individuals preplan their funerals: it relieves an emotional
burden from those you love, you can express your own wishes, and you can
relieve the financial burden from those you love.

Q. Why is a funeral
service important?

A. A funeral doesn't
just recognize that a life has ended; they celebrate a life that was lived.
A funeral ritual helps those who are left behind to begin healing by
focusing their emotions and bringing meaning to the experience of death. It
gives permission to survivors to express feelings of sadness and loss.

Q. How can a funeral
be personalized?

A. Personalizing a
funeral service is becoming a wish that more and more families are
requesting. Displaying photos, memorabilia, and treasured belongings,
playing favorite music and placing mementos with their loved one in the
casket are many final tributes families choose. These items help families
remember to celebrate the memories shared with their loved one.

Q. What services are
available if cremation is chosen as final disposition?

A. One choice available
to families that utilize cremation is having a visitation with the body
present and a funeral service then cremation. Another choice for families is
to have the cremation take place after the death occurs and a memorial
service following cremation takes place at the families' choice of facility.
A third choice for families is to have the cremation take place with no
additional services.

Q. After cremation,
does burial of the cremated remains have to take place?

A. Burial is only one
choice that families can utilize for cremated remains. Some prefer to keep
the cremated remains in their personal possession where others choose to
bury. Scattering is also a choice and if you are interested, please visit
with your funeral director for details about regulations in your area.

Q. Is embalming
required?

A. State law states that
an unembalmed body may be kept no longer than 24 hours from the time of
death. After 24 hours, the body shall be refrigerated, embalmed, cremated,
or buried.